On August 2, 2025, the state of Telangana marked a historic moment in Indian sports development by signing an ambitious Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with TENVIC, the sports education venture co-founded by legendary cricketer Anil Kumble.
This strategic partnership is far more than a symbolic gesture it represents a comprehensive, scientifically backed, and socially inclusive roadmap aimed at transforming Telangana into a future hub of Olympic talent.
At its core, the Telangana-TENVIC initiative aligns seamlessly with the newly unveiled Telangana Sports Policy 2025, signaling a decisive shift from sporadic sports promotion to a long-term, systemic model focused on integrating academics, sports science, and structured talent identification.
A Vision Beyond Medals: The Foundations of Sports Policy 2025
The new Sports Policy 2025, unveiled by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy at the Telangana Sports Conclave, is built around five key pillars:
- Governance and organization
- Sports ecosystem development
- Long-term athlete development
- Infrastructure and skills enhancement
- Career pathways
By establishing institutions like the Sports Hub of Telangana and the Telangana Sports Development Fund (TSDF), the policy goes beyond short-term targets. Instead, it envisions a robust, enduring sports ecosystem that can produce generations of competitive athletes. A notable part of this vision is the plan to launch the Young India Physical Education and Sports University (YIPESU) in Hyderabad, in partnership with Korea’s National Sports University. This reflects Telangana’s commitment to global standards, aiming to blend technical excellence with scientific training.
The TENVIC Partnership: Integrating Academics and Sports Science
The collaboration with TENVIC captures one of the policy’s most innovative aspects: recognizing that athletic success is multi-dimensional and must be supported by education and science.
For decades, Indian athletes have faced an either/or dilemma: pursue education or focus entirely on sports. Anil Kumble’s vision—that “Talent alone is not enough; creating opportunities is more important”—echoes the belief that dual-career pathways are essential. By integrating academics with high-performance training, Telangana’s program ensures that athletes:
- Maintain academic qualifications
- Gain exposure to sports science
- Have fallback options if a professional sports career doesn’t materialize
This balanced, evidence-based approach aligns Telangana with international best practices and helps address India’s historical challenge of athlete dropouts due to academic insecurity.
Phase 1: Scale, Scope, and Social Impact
The first phase of the program will directly engage:
- 238 social welfare schools
- Impacting around 150,000 students
It will initially focus on five Olympic disciplines that combine grassroots popularity and competitive potential: Wrestling, Kabaddi, Volleyball, Athletics, and Weightlifting. Training will take place at three Centers of Excellence, and critically, Physical Education teachers will be upskilled with modern sports science knowledge.
By targeting social welfare schools, Telangana places social equity at the heart of its sports strategy. This approach ensures that young athletes from marginalized backgrounds—not just those from urban centers—have access to world-class training and academic support.
In its second phase, the program will expand to cover five additional Olympic sports, broadening the talent pool and aligning with national priorities.
Why TENVIC? Proven Expertise and Technological Backbone
Founded by Anil Kumble and former table tennis international Vasanth Bharadwaj, TENVIC brings more than 15 years of experience in combining education, sports coaching, and science. Its program structure covers beginner to advanced levels, taught by certified coaches vetted through rigorous checks.
Crucially, TENVIC uses digital tools to scale its impact:
- An online Academy Management System to track athlete progress
- Video analytics platforms for performance feedback and remote coaching
These technologies address one of the biggest hurdles in mass talent identification: consistency and scalability across hundreds of institutions.
TENVIC’s recent partnership with the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) which combines sports coaching, research, and dual-career pathways provides a tested blueprint directly applicable to Telangana’s vision.
Strengthening the Foundation: Existing Assets and New Plans
Telangana is not starting from scratch. Facilities like the Telangana State Sports School (TSSS) in Hyderabad already showcase what integrated training and academics can achieve: over 100 international medals and thousands of national ones.
However, the Sports Policy 2025 acknowledges existing gaps and plans to address them by:
- Creating mini-stadiums in each of the state’s 119 Assembly constituencies
- Establishing sports science centers and residential academies
- Building the YIPESU and other advanced facilities
By decentralizing infrastructure, the state aims to bridge the rural-urban divide and ensure that no talent is left untapped due to geography.
Operational Challenges and Governance
Despite its promise, the program will face challenges common to large-scale sports initiatives:
- Funding: Sustaining high-level coaching and infrastructure requires steady, diversified financial support
- Qualified coaches: Scaling quality coaching across hundreds of schools is a major task
- Governance: Ensuring transparency and fairness, especially in talent selection, will be critical
The Sports Authority of Telangana (SATG), already experienced in running large programs and digital systems, will play a central role. But past criticisms (e.g., court-reported inefficiencies) highlight the importance of robust governance, accountability, and clear operational guidelines.
Beyond Sports: Socio-Economic Transformation
By focusing on social welfare schools, Telangana’s model doesn’t just aim to produce Olympic medalists—it also aims for profound social change:
- Opening professional pathways in sports and related industries
- Promoting health, discipline, and teamwork among youth
- Providing marginalized students with tools for economic mobility
This dual focus on elite performance and community upliftment makes the initiative both ambitious and socially responsible.
Telangana’s approach reflects lessons from both Indian examples (like the Sports Authority of India and integrated schools such as The Sports School in Bangalore) and international best practices, including talent identification systems in the UK and Australia.
By combining:
- Academics and sports science
- Technological tools
- Inclusive grassroots scouting
Telangana-TENVIC program could emerge as a national benchmark.
The Telangana-TENVIC partnership stands out not just for its scale, but for its philosophy: that academic security, scientific training, and inclusivity can and must coexist in modern sports development.
If implemented effectively, this initiative could redefine how Indian states nurture talent: moving away from sporadic scouting toward a holistic, long-term system that produces champions on the field and confident, educated citizens off it. The true legacy of this partnership, then, may not just be medals but a new generation of youth empowered to dream bigger, both in sport and life.
